Olfactory navigation

Olfactory navigation is a hypothesis that proposes the usage of the sense of smell by pigeons, in particular the mail pigeon, in navigation and homing.

There are two principal versions. Papi's mosaic model proposes that pigeons construct a map from the distribution of environmental odours, within a radius of 70–100 kilometres. Wallraff's gradient theory overcomes the problem of distance limitation by proposing the existence of long-range, stable atmospheric odour gradients. However, the evidence to suggest that pigeons use an ‘olfactory map’ in order to home is not conclusive.

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